Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped 215 mph during a test Wednesday morning at Michigan International Speedway, one of NASCAR’s fastest tracks.
Track president Roger Curtis tweeted about Earnhardt's fast speed, saying "@DaleJr hits 215mph. @MISpeedway [email protected] test."
Joey Logano set the track qualifying record at 2-mile Michigan last year at 203.949 mph with NASCAR’s new Gen-6 Sprint Cup car. Cup teams are setting new track records again this year with new aerodynamic rules that generate more downforce and NASCAR's new group qualifying procedure. Earnhardt was averaging more than 203 mph at Michigan Wednesday and drivers typically run even faster when they return to a track for the race.
Clint Bowyer, meanwhile, said he ran 217 mph during Wednesday's test. Michigan International Speedway's Twitter account tweeted it was "white of your eyes fast."
NASCAR typically balks at cars running faster than 200 mph. The all-time qualifying record is 212.809 mph set by Bill Elliott at Talladega Superspeedway in 1987. Elliott also qualified at 210.364 mph at Daytona in 1987. NASCAR began using restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega in 1988.
Earnhardt, Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Trevor Bayne are taking part in the second of a two-day Goodyear Tire test at the 2-mile track.
Earnhardt said he was hitting speeds between 212-215 mph on the straightaways and about 180 mph in the turns.
“This is one of our better tracks, and our fans will probably say the same,” said Earnhardt, who has won twice at Michigan. “I enjoy racing here. It’s a fun track. The asphalt is really aging well and it’s just going to keep getting better and better over the next couple of years.”
Though the track records and soaring speeds are sexy, Curtis said passing and fierce competition is what makes great racing at the track.
“The drivers are posting 200 mph. That’s awesome. The fans get very, very excited about that," Curtis said. "But at the end of the day, on Sunday when the green flag drops, the numbers ‘two zero zero,’ they’re not anywhere in the fans’ minds. It’s lead changes, it’s the competition.”
